Attention activity directors: Spanish researchers have found that a program of personalized physical exercise can help reverse functional decline among your residents.
That is the conclusion of a research project coordinated by Nicolás Martínez-Velilla, Ph.D., M.D., and Mikel Izquierdo-Redín, Ph.D., researchers at the Public University of Navarre.
Martínez-Velilla said the confirmation might encourage senior living organizations to focus less on disease prevention and more on functional status.
Study participants were given a personalized program that included strength, balance and walking exercises. Sessions lasted 20 minutes twice a day (morning and afternoon), over between five and seven consecutive days (including weekends and public holidays) under the individual supervision of experts in the field. Full findings appear in JAMA Internal Medicine.
In a separate study appearing in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, investigators found that older people with cardiovascular disease were more likely to experience rapid functional decline than those without.
“Future work should investigate additional factors that are associated with rapid functional decline in late life as well as interventions that can lead to functional improvement in this high-risk group,” said lead author Tamra Keeney, Ph.D., of the MGH Institute of Health Professions.
